Jearmin Week! (and others)
by charm545
Summary: This was originally just to post my Jearmin week prompts but I'm going to be posting little stories once in a while.
1. Teamwork

**I've been so excited about Jearmin week! I will be honest and say that this first prompt is my least favorite one. I'm actually really looking forwards to the one for tomorrow! Enjoy it anyway and spread the love!**

**As always, I don't own SNK or any of its characters.**

* * *

Decorating the Christmas tree has always required lots of teamwork between Armin and Jean.

The blonde will put some holiday music while Jean brings in the tree. He sets it on some concrete blocks covered with a white blanket that Armin had already set before. Armin would start untangling the lights and connecting them. Jean would then hold them and follow Armin around while the blonde sets them. Jean thought maybe his favorite part of Christmas was watching Armin surrounded by lights as he hummed some Christmas tune.

Once the lights are on, it was time for the spheres. They had discovered that there were some areas Armin was too short to reach so the blonde had the job of taking out all the spheres and putting the little hook so Jean could put them on the tree. Armin would guide him through it and tell him when there were too many red spheres on one side or too many golden spheres on the other.

Once the spheres were set it was time for the ribbon. Jean would always try to wrap the blonde with it but Armin was ready to defend himself. Just like with the lights, Jean held it and followed Armin around as the blonde put it on the tree.

Now it was time for the star. Jean always insisted that Armin had to be the one who put it. He also would never let the blonde use a chair to reach the top; he had to sit on Jean's shoulders. Armin used to blush and complain about having to do it but it had become a sort of tradition.

Jean smiled as Armin stretched to place the star at the top of the tree.

"You light up my world."

"Shut up."

They watched the tree for a moment before moving on. At the base of the tree, over the white blanket, they began to set the train tracks for the toy train they put every year. Jean was in charge of making sure the train was working while Armin focused on the little village. They had little houses, which the train circled around. There were little bookshops, tailor shops, schools, a church, a marry-go-round, and even a little ice cream stand. This was Armin's favorite part of Christmas; seeing the little village come to life as he worked by Jean's side.

Armin laughed when the train began to move. There were little bears as passengers and they seemed to be having dinner. The two boys stood up and leaned against each other as they looked at their finished work.

"Well done." Jean says kissing the top of Armin's head.

"I'll go make some hot chocolate."


	2. Travel

**This is actually based on a real story. Two of my friends who didn't know each other spent time together during a school trip and hooked up by the end of it. It's the longest prompt I wrote for this week!**

**As always, I don't own snk or any of its characters.**

* * *

It was all Marco's fault, really.

His parents didn't let him go to the New York school trip. This, of course, made Jean loose practically all of the excitement he had been feeling towards this trip, and made him very grumpy during the entire flight. At the airport, Ms. Hanji made an announcement.

"Alright guys! You now have to find a partner! This is for safety purposes. You are not to leave this person's side during the entire duration of this trip. It has to be boys with boys and girls with girls. Find your partner!"

Jean panicked. Now that Marco wasn't there, who was he going to partner up with? What if he ended up with some really annoying guy like Eren? The thought jolted him into action. He quickly looked around and tried to find the most decent person. His eyes landed on a certain blond haired boy.

"Armin!" He called out, his voice a mixture of relief and panic. He quickly pulled the other boy towards him. "Be my partner, okay?"

The blond blinked in surprise. Then he remembered that Marco hadn't been able to come and he suddenly felt a bit bad for the taller boy.

"Sure, Jean." Everyone was getting into their groups of two. Eren, who had been in the bathroom, walked towards Armin.

"So, who do you think we should choose for our room?" Armin gave him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, Eren. I'm not your partner. Jean asked first." The brunette stuttered.

"W-what? I don't need to ask you! It should be obvious!" Suddenly Jean's arm was around Armin's shoulders.

"Sorry, Jaeger! If you snooze you loose." Armin seriously thought Eren was going to punch Jean in that moment, but Hanji interrupted.

"Hurry up! Once everyone has their partners get together with another pair with which you will share a hotel room."

Eren scowled at Jean before going to find someone else. In the end, he partnered up with Connie and demanded that Armin and Jean be in his hotel room. There was no way he was going to let that horseface go off with the blond just like that.

* * *

At night, Eren refused to let Jean sleep with Armin. There were only two beds per room so it was implied that each partnership would share one. Eren just glared at Jean, said "no way in hell", and pulled Armin to the bed with him.

As they got ready to sleep, Jean decided to annoy Eren by poking fun at how cute Armin looked in his pajamas and with his face all sleepy.

Once they turned off the lights, Jean sighed in annoyance.

"Great, now I'm stuck here with you." He whispered to Connie.

"I'm not happy either; you're way bigger than Eren. I can hardily move!"

"Are you calling me fat!?"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP JEAN YOU ARE NOT LETTING US SLEEP."

"I think your yelling already ruined that possibility, Eren."

Jean grinned at the comment. During the day he had discovered that he really liked Armin. He hadn't taken the time to get to know him before, but he guess now was as good as ever. Besides, It was a good way to annoy Eren too.

* * *

A knock on the door woke Armin up. It was Ms. Hanji letting them know it was time to get ready. Jean and Connie groaned. Light snores could still be heard from Eren. Armin yawned and stretched before going to the door and greeting the teacher to let her know they were awake. After that, he walked to the hotel window and drew the curtains.

2 groans filled the room. Eren was still dead to the world.

"Alright guys. I'm warning you now. I'm going to take a shower and if by the time I'm done you are not out of bed I will need to take drastic measures. That means you, Eren!" He threw a pillow at the brunette but he didn't seem to notice.

Once Armin came out of the shower, Connie was dragging himself out of bed and Jean was dressing himself with his eyes half closed. Eren was still asleep.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Armin sighed. Jean rubbed his eyes to clear them up a bit. He followed Armin's form as he made his way to Eren's side.

"What are you going to do?" He asked. Connie stood up to look too. Armin didn't talk, he just took out his phone, looked something up, and laid it next to Eren's ear. He then took a step back and stood next to Jean. 10 seconds later, a loud car alarm sound jolted Eren out of his sleep with a yell.

Jean and Connie began to crack up. Eren fumbled with the phone, trying to turn the alarm off. Jean put an arm around Armin's shoulders.

"That was brilliant!" He ruffled the blond's hair. This was going to be a great day.

* * *

They went to the Metropolitan museum of art. There, they were given a packet with different questions to fill out. It had to be done by working with your partner only. Eren was very angry because neither he nor Connie understood any of the questions. The green eyed boy threw angry glares at Jean who stuck out his tongue and turned back to Armin who was explaining the answer to one of the questions.

Eren tried to sneak close to them and hear. Armin really wanted to help him, but he knew they weren't allowed. Eventually Mr. Levi saw and forced Eren and Connie to move on to another area of the packet, meaning another area of the museum. Jean gave him a mean smirk as he left.

Jean was really impressed by Armin. The blonde had more intellect and problem solving skills in his little finger than most people learned in a lifetime. Together they were able to finish the packet fairly quickly and had a chance to goof around.

Jean insisted they take funny photos with the sculptures. At first Armin thought it was disrespectful to the artist, but Jean's expressions were hilarious and his enthusiasm was contagious. Armin soon found himself laughing alongside the taller boy as they went around the museum, imitating the images.

There was a point where, in the photography area, Armin posed before a very large image. As Jean began to take pictures, more people joined him. They apparently thought Armin was part of the exhibit. They both tried hard not to break down in bursts of laughter. Once the people cleared, they let themselves cave in.

"Can I brag that I have a friend who is pretty enough to be exposed in a museum?"

"Shut up."

After a while, they went to the souvenir shop. Jean would be making jokes with anything he found. The blonde was impressed at his ability to make anything funny. He couldn't remember the last time he had laughed this much.

Suddenly he caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye.

"Jean, look!" He took the item in his hands and stared at it with wonder. Jean looked over the blonde's shoulder.

"Are those little tapestries?"

"They are cup holders, but yes, in the form of tiny tapestries."

"I don't think I've ever used a cup holder in my life."

"I am disappointed in your lack of mannerism." Armin traced a finger over the soft material. "I really like them. If I had a house of my own, I would definitely buy these." Jean chuckled.

"It does look like the kind of thing you would have." Jean watched Armin's dreamy expression, but it suddenly broke.

"I'm being silly. I don't even have a house." He put them down and began to walk away, but Jean saw how he looked back at them for a moment. He seemed slightly upset. Upset enough to forget the "always stick together" rule and walk off to the farther side of the store. Jean watched him go before sighing and reaching towards the tiny tapestries.

* * *

Armin was looking around other areas of the store when Jean walked up to him with a bag of purchases in his hand. Armin smiled.

"What did you get?" He asked with curiosity. Wordlessly, Jean put his hand into the bag and took out the tiny tapestries. Armin's eyes widened. "Jean! Y-you didn't have to-"

"There's nothing wrong with dreaming, Armin." He said, placing the objects in his hands. "I know hope can lead to disappointment, but that is part of living. When it comes to things like these, you have to make the choice you think you will regret the least. In this case, it was pretty obvious."

Armin stared at the cup holders in his hands. He looked up at Jean, his blue eyes almost watery.

"You're right… It was obvious. Let me pay you for them." Jean shook his head and gave him a teasing grin.

"Just take it as my thanks for being such huge help with the packet." Armin looked back down at the tapestries and held them tightly against his chest.

"Thank you." He whispered. Then his head snapped up and an excited expression appeared on his face. "Jean! Some day, when I have a house of my own, I will invite you a drink on these cup holders!"

A warm feeling spread through Jean's chest.

"I'll hold you to that."

* * *

Before going to sleep, Eren decided to go to the soda machine and get some drinks. Everyone else was lying on their beds and getting ready to sleep. Armin had quickly drifted off while reading a book, which was still lying on his lap. Jean stood from his bed and plucked it from under the blonde's tiny hands. He placed the bookmark on the page Armin had left off and set it on the shelf. He then pulled up the blanket to cover the boy better. Connie was going to make a joke like "are you going to kiss him goodnight now?" but something stopped him. The scene just seemed too sincere for something like that.

Jean sighed and let himself fall onto his own bed. Connie watched him silently. After a moment, Jean growled in frustration.

"Ugh. Why is Eren even sleeping with Armin! He's _my_ partner." At that moment, Eren walked in. Jean pretended to be asleep, not wanting to deal with him.

Once the lights were out, Connie whispered something to Jean. His voice was low enough to be sure only the boy at his side would hear.

"Jean… do you like Armin?" They both knew the kind of liking Connie was talking about.

The question brought a shock over the brunette because… maybe he did.

As he thought of the last few days he had been spending in Armin's company, everything pointed to it being true. He wouldn't mind getting to know Armin in that way. In fact, the idea made him very happy.

"Maybe." He admitted.

Connie was silent for a moment, but even in the dark, Jean could see his eyes widen as he nodded.

"… If you want, I can help you so you can sleep with Armin."

"Really?!"

"Yeah, just leave it to me."

* * *

"Is it this way?"

"I think so."

Armin and Jean walked side by side through the streets of New York trying to find the bus where the rest of the class was waiting for them.

Armin suddenly stopped and pulled at Jean's sweater.

"Look!" He pointed. There was a man on the ground, he had his shirt pulled over his head and he wasn't moving.

"Wow." Jean muttered.

"Is he alright?" Armin asked, worriedly.

"Who knows? Let's hurry." But Armin wouldn't budge.

"We have to make sure he's ok." The blonde insisted. Jean panicked slightly.

"Armin! The people here are crazy! You should really just let him be!" The blonde didn't listen. He neared the body on the ground and Jean sighed before following him.

"Excuse me… Are you alright?" Armin poked at the man with his shoe. For a moment there was no response and both boys feared that the man could truly be dead. Suddenly, as if he had been electrocuted, the man leaped up.

Armin and Jean stepped back in shock as the man lowered his shirt back onto his body.

He stank of alcohol and rotten food. His eyes wouldn't focus and he wobbled as he took a step towards Armin.

"Hey, cutie. Wanna spend some time with me?" The blue eyed boy had no idea how to react and he just stood there as the man neared him. Suddenly Jean forced himself between them.

"Hey! Back off!" The man was confused for a second, as if he had just realized Jean was there, then he smirked.

"What? Is he your boyfriend or something?" Armin would probably be blushing a bit if he wasn't slightly terrified. He was about to apologize to the man and go on their way when he felt Jean lace his fingers with Armin's own.

"Yes." He stated. "So go away." The man scowled and mumbled something under his breath as he walked away. Armin let go of a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"Thank you. You didn't have to do that." Jean grinned.

"We're partners! Our job's to look out for each other." They continued their walk in search of the bus, but Jean never let go of Armin's hand. The blonde did not complain.

Once they made it there, they saw that people were still lined up to go inside the bus, so they had made it just in time. Eren didn't seem to think so.

"You guys are late!" He called out. Then he saw their laced hands and scowled. He was about to say something about it when Connie suddenly jumped in front of him.

"Aha! You're right, Eren! We better hurry in!" He began to push the green eyed boy until they were inside the bus.

The bus ride was a bit long, and Armin found himself dozing off. The feeling of Jean's hand in his made him relax and let his head fall onto the taller boy's shoulder.

* * *

Exaggeratedly violent coughs erupted from Connie's mouth.

"Are you alright?" Armin asked, wincing lightly.

"Ugh. I must have caught something-*COUGH HACK COUGH*"

Jean smirked, but forced his expression into a scowl.

"There's no way I'm sleeping with you getting all your germs on me." He made his way to Eren and Armin's bed. "Scooch over, blondie."

"Wow! What the fuck do you think you are doing!" Eren called out as Jean made himself comfortable in their bed.

"What? Are you really heartless enough to make me sleep with _that_?"

"*COUGH HACK WHEEZE*" Eren winced.

"No! You can sleep on the floor!"

"Eren! We can share the bed just fine." Armin said, annoyed at his friend's temper. This only seemed to piss him off more.

"Well, I'm not sleeping with the horseface! I guess that mean's _I'll_ sleep on the floor!" Armin looked like he wanted to argue, but he decided it was useless. Eren mumbled under his breath as he got off the bed. He turned off the lights and threw himself onto the ground.

Now Armin and Jean were alone on the bed. There was a moment of awkwardness where they each didn't know how to act or move without making the other uncomfortable. It was broken by Jean's voice.

"I drool when I sleep."

Armin's laughter seemed to melt all the tension away.

"I get cold." The blonde closed the distance between his body and Jean's as he snuggled up to the other boy's chest. Jean put his arms around the smaller boy and laid his chin on top of his hair. It felt so comfortable and so right, as if (as corny as it sounded) it was meant to be.

* * *

The next morning, Armin and Jean were in a very good mood. The blonde hummed as he served himself from the hotel breakfast buffet. Jean insisted in carrying Armin's plate back to their table, so the blonde went to get juice for both of them.

They walk, side by side, back to their seats. Jean placed the blonde's plate before him as Armin set Jean's juice next to his dish. Eren gagged.

"You look like a married couple." Jean smirked, put his arm around Armin's shoulders, and buried his head against the boy's neck.

"Does that bother you, Eren?" He asked in a mocking tone. The green eyed boy was fuming.

"I can go get you some juice too, if you want." Armin tried for a peace offering. Eren glared, but stayed quiet as he roughly took a bite of his toast.

They took their seats and began to eat. Eren suddenly couldn't keep his mouth shut any longer.

"I can't believe you made me sleep on the floor!" Armin raised an eyebrow and gave a humored smile.

"I think your exact words were _'I guess that mean's I'll be sleeping on the floor'_. There doesn't seem to have been much decision making on my part." Eren scowled and looked away.

Jean took Armin's hand under the table. The blonde blushed lightly. He wondered if this behavior was going to continue once they were back home. Maybe this was just a fling for fun during a trip, but he remembered that that usually only applies to the summer where there are no witnesses. Jean was not hiding his affection, and the people around them were the same people who would be with them back home.

"Jean! Try this." Armin cut a piece of his mushroom omelet and feed it to Jean. The taller boy munched with a thoughtful expression.

"It's good, but check this out." He got a spoonful of hash browns. The blonde obediently opened his mouth, the resulting image being very cute. Jeansmiled fondly and took a second to record that image clearly in his memory. He let the spoon slip through Armin's lips.

"Yum!" The blonde exclaimed.

"You want some more?"

Eren slammed his hands against the table and stood up. Armin rolled his eyes as he opened his mouth again to be fed by Jean.

* * *

The moment Armin stepped out of the bathroom his 3 other roommates' eyes widened.

"Wow. Nice!" Connie called out. Armin blushed.

"Is it too much? My grandfather got really excited about me going to the opera."

They were all dressing in formal attire for this event, but some people's outfits were less refined than others.

Connie was wearing a simple dress shirt and black pants. Eren's shirt was a bit nicer and he also had a tie, which Connie refused to wear. Jean was actually wearing a suit, but it looked old (well it was the one he always used to any formal event, from a wedding to a funeral.)

Armin suit, on the other hand, was brand new. It had been purchased just for the occasion. It was also so shocking because it was white. The tie was a bright blue that matched the tone of his eyes. Even Eren looked impressed.

"Nah, man. You look awesome." Jean was still too shocked to speak. Armin made his way to the full body mirror.

"I'm not sure. Maybe I should…"

"It's perfect." Armin blinked in surprise. He watched Jean by his reflection in the mirror. The taller boy blushed lightly and looked away. Armin smiled.

When they made their way to the hotel reception, Armin caught many eyes. He was the only one who didn't seem to look awkward in formal attire, although that didn't mean the boy in question felt confident in it.

Reiner wolf whistled and Jean scowled.

Ms. Hanji ran to Armin and began to freak out about how great he looked and how she appreciated that at least _someone_ actually looked ready for the opera.

On the bus, Armin felt more over dressed than ever. Jean noticed and he gave him a light nudge.

"Stop worrying. You look super hot." Armin laughed whole heartedly. He had never been called that in his entire life, but he knew that Jean truly believed what he was saying. He let his head fall onto his shoulder.

"I'm glad you think so."

"_Reiner_ seems to think so too." Jean muttered annoyed.

"Who cares." The brunette smiled at Armin's dismissive tone. He laid his cheek against the top of the blonde's head.

As they began to step out of the bus, Jean offered Armin his arm. The blonde smirked before taking it. They walked down together.

Jean was very proud of the company he was holding. They caught the eye of many people but instead of feeling jealousy he only felt satisfaction.

"_Yes. Take a good long look. This angel is with me. "_

The opera was in Italian. There were little translators in front of their seats. Jean thought of putting it in French, but Armin insisted that Italian was closer to Spanish and since they both knew a little bit they had the obligation to put it in that language. In the end he had to agree. It was good practice and it was fun to whisper with Armin and try to figure out what the performer had just said and what a certain word meant.

* * *

"That was wonderful! Don't you think so, Eren?"

"I have no idea what happened. Connie fell asleep."

They were walking out of the Opera and through the Lincoln center. Armin rolled his eyes at his friend and decided to change his focus to the beautiful fountain at the center.

"You want me to take a picture of you?" Jean asked. Armin nodded happily. He stood before the fountain and Jean took a picture with the blonde's camera. "Hold on!" Jean called out as he took his own camera and took another picture. Armin felt like his heart was going to explode. The moment he put the camera down, Armin couldn't control himself and he ran towards the taller boy.

Jean laughed as he caught Armin in his arms and the blonde gave him a tight hug. Before he could regret it, he pulled back and kissed the shorter boy. There was some clapping and cheering. Eren gaged.

* * *

Marco was very excited to see his friends and hear all about what they had done in New York. He was slightly shocked when Eren was the first to greet him. He walked straight to him, fuming.

"This is your fault." He said. Before Marco could ask what he meant, Eren looked behind his shoulder and scowled before walking away. Confused, Marco looked over to where Eren had been looking and saw Jean and Armin walking together holding hands and talking. Marco blinked, still confused.

"What happened on that trip?"


	3. Sickness

**As always, I don't own SNK or any of it's characters!**

* * *

Armin could feel the sickness coming. For the past few days his nose had been runny and he had been coughing too much for comfort. Still, he hadn't thought it bad enough to cancel his lunch date with Jean. His boyfriend went to pick him up to his house and drove them to their favorite restaurant. They were chatting all the way there like always, maybe Armin had a bit of a headache and he felt pressure behind his eyes but it wasn't something that couldn't be ignored.

Everything changed when they walked into the restaurant. Armin suddenly felt extremely cold, colder than he had ever felt in his entire life. As they sat down at a table, the blonde looked at the taller boy.

"Aren't you cold?" Jean frowned.

"Not really. It's actually kind of hot." The brunette gave him a concerned look and Armin decided to drop the subject.

Armin could hardily focus on Jean as the boy talked. The blonde couldn't stand the cold. He felt like crying. He would have been desperate enough to beg any stranger for their sweater but no one had one. Did they actually think it was hot? They must be crazy!

Armin didn't want to eat anything but Jean insisted that he should at least get some soup. The blonde gave in and ordered that. He tried to listen to what Jean was saying but he really could think of nothing but the cold. He mentally begged the cook to hurry; he was desperate to leave that frozen place. It felt like years until the food got there. When it did, Armin found himself incapable of eating. Jean looked worried now.

"You really need to eat something. Are you still cold?" Armin nodded weakly. Jean frowned.

"Maybe you're getting sick."

"Maybe." Armin suppressed a shiver. On Jean's insistence he forced himself to eat, and managed to get 7 spoonfuls of soup down his throat. Jean kept looking at him with concern but Armin hardily noticed.

The blonde thought he heard angels sing when the waiter brought the check. They paid for their food and began to head out. The moment Armin crossed the door he took a deep breath and basked in the warmth. His happiness was short-lived.

He suddenly didn't feel very well. He made his way to a big potted plant and threw up on the dirt. So much for the 7 spoonfuls.

He thought he heard Jean call his name but everything sounded distant, as if someone was covering his ears. The corners of his vision were dark and he suddenly felt like he was watching everything through a television, not like he was living any of it.

He finished throwing up and lifted his head. Jean was there, holding him and talking to him but Armin couldn't hear him. The blonde felt very tired. His head began to fall forward onto his chest, but Jean shook him. Armin didn't understand why Jean was doing that. He just wanted to rest his head… Jean shook him again with more urgency. He was still talking. Armin watched his face without really seeing.

A while later, things began to clear up. Sound came back and the dark edges in his vision went away. Armin blinked and looked at Jean. Something must have changed in his demeanor because the taller boy sighed in something akin to relief.

"Do you want some water?" Was the first thing Armin understood. The blonde nodded. Jean gave him one last worried glance before leaving him for a moment and going into the restaurant to ask for a glass. Armin took a deep breath. He felt much better now. Perfect in fact. He was sure Jean would want to take him to the doctor or something but all he wanted was to go home. He looked over at the dirt where he had just thrown up on but it had already absorbed the liquid so there was, thankfully, no evidence left.

Jean came back from the restaurant and handed him the water. Armin drank greedily just realizing how much his throat hurt. He thanked Jean who took the glass back inside. He walked out and bent before Armin.

"How do you feel?" He asked cupping the boy's cheek with his hand. Armin leaned against the cool touch.

"I feel perfectly fine. Really. We can go home now." Jean scowled and stood up.

"Home? Are you kidding? We're going to the hospital." Armin sighed knowing there was nothing he could say to change his boyfriend's mind. Jean took his hand and they walked towards the car. Jean kept glancing at him like he was afraid Armin was going to drop dead or something.

"I really am fine, Jean."

"Tsk." They got into the car. There was silence for a while but it was broken by Jean. "Were you feeling bad before? Why didn't you tell me?" Armin didn't know what to say.

"I didn't know I was that sick."

"That sick? You almost passed out in my arms! Damn it, Armin! Do you have any idea how scared I was?" Jean's hands were shaking as they held the steering wheel. Armin frowned. He wouldn't have passed out. He just wanted to rest his head…

There was more silence. Armin sighed.

"I'm sorry." Jean shook his head.

"It's not your fault. I just got really scared. I don't want anything to happen to you. If you ever feel bad in any way, please tell me." He suddenly turned to look at Armin. "Promise me that you'll tell me." The blonde looked at him and gave him a weak smile.

"I promise."

At the hospital the doctor took Armin's temperature. He nodded.

"He needs an injection immediately to lower that fever; it is very high. I will give him other medications as well." Armin was kind of terrified of needles, but Jean held his hand and talked to him so he could think of something else. As Jean drove him to the pharmacy, Armin kissed his cheek.

"Thank you for taking care of me."

"Always."


	4. Free: Weddings

**This is the free prompt! I had this idea when I went to my aunt's wedding last week.**

**As always, I don't own SNK or any of its characters!**

* * *

"Remind me how we ended up at a stranger's wedding." Jean whispered to Armin as everyone took their seats inside the church.

"It's the sister of a friend of the aunt of Connie's cousin…" Armin frowned. "Which would mean it was the sister of a friend of Connie's mom."

"And why are we here?!"

"Because Connie couldn't come and he asked us to come in his place." Jean rubbed his face.

"How did he convince you?" The taller boy asked.

"I owed him a favor." Armin said simply. Jean raised an eyebrow. The blonde turned to him. "Why did you come?"

The brunnete stuttered.

"_Please, man!" _

"_No way."_

"_My mom will kill me if someone doesn't go in our place."_

"_Well you should've thought of that sooner!" Jean crossed his arms. Connie looked like was about to give up when a light sparked in his eyes._

"_Oh. I guess Armin will have to go alone then." The taller boy's breath caught in his throat. His heartbeat increased. Jean had a small, tiny, completely unexciting, huge, constant, and ever-present crush on the blonde boy. _

"_Armin's going?!" He almost yelled. Connie smiled, knowing he had Jean where he wanted him._

"_Yeah. Well I guess it's fine if you don't go; all of my cousins will go crazy over him." Jean scowled._

"_I'll go!" _

"Jean?" The brunette was snapped out of his thoughts.

"Ah- I- I owed him a favor too." Armin was going to say something when music began.

"Oh! It's starting." Jean intervened. They both watched as the bride walked down the asile. Armin sighed dreamily. One of the reasons why he also accepted to come was because he loved weddings. He loved the sentiment and the idea behind them, but they were different now. Armin found himself whispering.

"I hope they really mean it," Jean looked at him out of the corner of his eye. "It's just that lately marriage doesn't seem to mean anything to anyone anymore." The blonde paused as he watched the groom take the bride's hand in his. "Marriage means that no matter what problems came up you will fight to solve them because what you have is worth fighting for. If it wasn't then you shouldn't be getting married in the first place." The priest was talking but Jean couldn't hear him; all he heard was Armin. "If I ever get married," the blonde continued. "I would want that person to fight for what we have. Marriage is compromise. Marriage is meaningful. It's a promise to stay by another person's side till death."

Jean didn't understand why his heart was beating so hard inside his chest. He thought about what Armin had just said. He imagined Armin's wedding and for some reason he saw himself as the one being married to him. It really didn't seem like a bad idea at all. Before he realized it he had been fantasizing during the entire ceremony. When the bride and groom kissed, Jean looked at Armin and saw that the blonde's eyes were slightly teary. He felt a pang in his chest; yes marrying Armin didn't sound bad at all.

* * *

Armin sighed as he watched people dancing. He was a bit upset that Jean had ditched him a while back. He said he was going to get a drink and he never returned. The blonde really had no desire to dance or speak to anyone but thankfully everyone was too busy getting drunk to pay him any mind. Speaking of drunks...

Jean suddenly appeared. Armin gasped when he saw the condition of the other boy. He could hardily walk straight and his eyes were unfocused. Armin actually stood up and met him halfway.

"Jean! Are you alright?" The brunet blinked before smiling brightly.

"Armin! I was looking for you! I forgot where our table was…" His speech was slurred and Armin couldn't help giggle. The taller boy put an arm around the blonde's shoulders and he let his head fall against Armin's hair. The shorter boy blushed lightly. He was about to guide Jean back to their table when the taller boy spoke.

"Armiiiin! Marry meee!" The blonde's eyes widened before he chuckled.

"Jean you're so drunk. You have no idea what you are saying, do you? Let me take you back to the table." He began to guide him. Jean kept talking.

"That's not true! I've been thinking about it all day!" He forced Armin to stop moving and face him. "I agree with everything you said! About how marriage is compromise and about it being worth fighting for!" Armin's eyes softened. He hadn't expected Jean to actually listen to him; he had mostly just been thinking out loud. The taller boy seemed to have really taken his words to heart. "Pleaaaase!" Jean whined giving Armin big puppy dog eyes.

The blonde looked away for a second, his own heart beating fast, but he realized that Jean would probably not remember any of this the next day. He smiled.

"Alright." Jean blinked in shock. Then the biggest smile Armin had ever seen on his face appeared.

"Really?!" He tightened his hold on the blonde, who nodded with a small laugh.

"Someday I'll marry you." Jean suddenly lifted Armin and spun him around. When he brought him back down he kissed him on the lips and Armin blushed violently. Jean took the smaller boy's hand and began to run around and going to anyone and everyone and yelling "he said yes!"

Armin laughed as Jean dragged him along. He didn't understand why he felt so happy.

* * *

Jean woke up the next day with the worst headache he had ever had in his life but also with Armin's voice in the back of his mind: _Someday I'll marry you._

* * *

Armin served himself some scrambled eggs from the hotel buffet. He hummed as he took a seat on an empty table. Before he could take a bite of his toast, someone took the seat next to him.

"Hey, babe. Seat taken?" Armin sighed because he could tell this guy thought he was a girl. He was about to say something when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Actually it is." Armin looked up and smiled at Jean. The guy scowled and left. Before Armin could properly greet the taller boy, Jean ruffled his blonde hair. "What are you doing talking to other guys? Did you forget you're going to marry me?" Armin was glad he hadn't been eating anything because he was sure he would be choking on it right now.

"Wha- you- I-" He stuttered and blushed. Jean smiled fondly and bent down to kiss him.

"I'm going to get some food." He said before walking away. Armin watched him go. His hand lingered over his lips as he tried to calm his heartbeat. He suddenly felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. Armin took it out and answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey. How was the wedding?" It was Eren. Armin found himself smiling.

"Well, I got engaged."


	5. Gifts

**This is my favorite prompt! **

**As always, I don't own SNK or any of its characters.**

* * *

"_More_ gifts?" Eren scowled as he saw a bag of cookies on Armin's desk. The blonde ignored him and took the cookies with a fond smile. "Seriously, aren't you sick of this already?"

It was Thursday. For the past week, Armin had been getting little gifts like cookies or notes with bad puns on them. The sender was known only as "your secret santa". That meant is had to be either Eren, Mikasa, Connie, Sasha, Jean, Marco, Reiner, or Bertotl because they had all decided to do secret santa that year. The requirements were only to get a present on Christmas for the person who's name you got, but Armin's person had decided to go quite beyond that.

Armin knew it wasn't Eren because of the boy's reactions to each present (Eren was terrible at hiding his emotions so he knew he wasn't pretending either). He also knew it wasn't Mikasa because the girl had told him she got Sasha and had asked for advice on her present. That still left quite a few people, but the truth was that Armin didn't want to know; at least not yet. He thought the anonymity was half the fun.

"Of course not, Eren! It's so thoughtful." The brunette muttered under his breath and Armin chuckled. "You should get into the holiday spirit! Here!" Armin opened the bag of cookies, which were decorated like snowmen. "Want one?" Eren gaged.

"Whatever those cookies are intended for, it's definitely not me." The blonde rolled his eyes.

"Grinch." He teased, taking a bite off a cookie. The class began, but all Armin could think about was his secret santa. They truly had put a lot of effort into their actions. Armin found it adorable, but he was the only one getting these gifts and he couldn't help wonder if there was another purpose to them.

_It's still really sweet. I shouldn't think too much of it._

After class, Armin went to his locker to get a textbook. He smiled as he saw a note taped to it. Eren rolled his eyes. The blonde took the note, which had a funny drawing of a reindeer and the words:

**What does a reindeer say before telling a joke? This one will sleigh you!**

"I can't believe whoever this person is hasn't run out of puns yet." The brunette groaned. Armin elbowed him.

"Come on, let's go." He pressed the note tightly to his chest as they walked.

* * *

Mikasa was in his next class. He showed her the note to which she just raised an eyebrow.

"At least it's better than the last one."

"It wasn't so bad!"

"The pepper one?"

"Wait, I think I have it in my backpack." Armin opened the front pocket of his backpack where he had been placing all of his "gifts". He passed the requested note to Mikasa. It had the drawing of a salt shaker with a santa hat on and the words:

**What did the salt say to the pepper? Season's Greetings.**

The black haired girl just stared at the note. Armin laughed at her blank expression.

"It's the thought that counts." Armin explained as he took the note back and put it away with the others, also adding the newest one.

"Have you figured out who it is yet?"

"I haven't."

"You could if you wanted to."

"Why is it that people never seem to get the "secret" part?"

When the bell rang, they made their way to leave the room but were stopped by the teacher.

"Arlert! Hold on a second; someone left something for you." The blonde walked to the teacher, who handed him a giant candy cane.

"Nice." Mikasa said. Armin couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not.

When Eren saw it, he commented on how the blonde was going to get fat if all the person gave him was food.

"Don't forget about those Christmas themed pencils from yesterday! Or the mittens from Monday!"

"Yeah but what about the red velvet cupcake from yesterday! Or the candied walnuts from Monday!" Eren rubbed his temples. "And those ridiculous notes! I will never be able to forget the garden one."

Armin feigned ignorance.

"Which one was that one?" Eren seemed to snap.

"WHY DOES SANTA HAVE 3 GARDENS? SO HE CAN HO **HO **_**HO**_!"

Armin laughed as the brunette seethed with rage.

"You have to accept that being able to come up with those is a skill in itself."

"Why are you my friend?"

* * *

Armin was slightly sad on Friday. It would be the last day of the little gifts because they would be having the presents exchange on Saturday at Connie's house.

_At least I will find out who it is and I can finally thank them properly._

The truth was that the past week had been one of the happiest he could remember. It felt nice to know that someone was thinking so much about him and going through so much trouble to make him feel special.

_I don't think I've ever been so excited about Christmas before._

His slight sadness went away the moment he laid eyes on his locker. He laughed out loud. There were lights hanging all around it, badly cut snowflakes taped on, and a small wreath with a bright red bow.

Armin was touched. Figuring out how to connect the lights must have been very complicated. He could imagine the person who did this staying late after school or early in the morning to do it.

He stared at his locker for a long time before actually opening it and taking the books he would need for his next class. People walking by praised him about his locker and Armin would say "A friend did it for me."

He chuckled as he thought of what Eren's reaction would be when he saw it. Giving it one last glance, Armin made his way to the area where he always met up with his friends before class.

Many people walked past him as he made his way there. He suddenly felt someone's hand on his back for a fleeting second. The blonde turned around and tried to see who it had been but there was no way to tell.

He smiled as he pulled a note from off his back. It had the drawing of a snowman with fangs.

**What do you get when you cross a snowman with a vampire? Frostbite**

Armin shook his head with a small chuckle and put the note in his backpack.

* * *

"Ugh thank heavens it Friday; I don't think I could take any more of that." Eren huffed as Armin showed him the newest note. "I can't even be relieved though! If today's the last day then it's probably going to be the most intense one!"

"Probably. Wait till you see my locker." Eren's face twitched.

"What did they do?"

"They decorated it!" The brunette sighed.

"This day can't end soon enough. When we find out who this person is I'm going to have a serious talk with them."

"Stop being annoying, Eren. I really appreciate everything they've done."

"Well you are you! And it is _because_ it is you we are talking about that I'm so pissed off. What's with this person anyway? Why are they even going out of their way to do all this?"

"Do you have something against people doing nice things for others?"

"You know that's not what I meant!"

Armin gave him an innocent smile. The bell rang to signify the start of the school day. They walked to their first class and, of course, there was a gift waiting on Armin's desk. The blonde's eyes lit up with interest and fondness when he saw what it was.

"A candle?" Eren said slightly confused.

"A book scented candle." Armin corrected. He took the small object into his hands.

"Your room already smells of books." Eren muttered annoyed.

"Shush I'm actually really curious." The blonde knew that the candle wasn't common and he wondered if the person had ordered it from the Internet or something just for him.

During lunch someone brought him some churros and Armin couldn't be happier. He found gifts in each class but no notes. It wasn't until his last period that he found one taped to his desk.

Armin felt his heartbeat accelerate as he read the final note.

**This one's the best one!**

**What do you call a group of chess nerds bragging about their games in a hotel lobby?**

**Chess nuts boasting in an open foyer!**

Armin actually dropped his head against his desk with a load thud.

_You are so ridiculous!_

He didn't lift his head again until the bell rang. All he could think about was how maybe he was a little bit in love with this person.

* * *

"I want to eat already!" Sasha yelled. The 8 friends were sitting in Connie's living room chatting amiably when Sasha made her declaration.

"We're doing the secret santa thing first! We're just waiting for Reiner cause we sent him to buy more chips!" Connie yelled back.

"Lets just do it without him!"

"Sasha you damn glutton! I'm back already!" The blonde called out from the door. Armin laughed at his friend's antics.

"Lets get this started! I want to eat too!" Eren called out.

"How should we start?" Armin asked. Connie grinned.

"Why don't we start with you? Here." He took a piece of paper out from his pocket and gave it to Armin. For a second the blonde wondered if Connie was his secret santa but something told him that wasn't the case. His heartbeat quickened as he read the note.

**What did the horse say when it fell? I've fallen and I can't giddyup! **

The blonde was slightly confused. That hadn't been Christmas related. Horses? Horse…

Armin gasps as realization hit him. He looked up.

"Jean!"

_Of course _

Now it seemed obvious. Of course it had been Jean who had come up with all those ridiculous one liners. Jean, who came off as selfish and blunt but was actually really caring and funny.

The boy in question nodded, blushing. He gave a nervous laugh. The blonde smiled warmly.

"Thank you so much for all your gifts." He wanted to say more, but the tone of his voice seemed enough to convey his emotions. The other boy looked all flustered as he looked away from the blonde. He quickly made his way to the Christmas tree under which everyone had put their presents. He took a package and walked to Armin.

"H-here. M-merry Christmas." The moment Armin took the package in his hands Jean sat back down and stared at the ground, red on the face.

Armin began to open his present. His chest swelled when he saw what it was. It was a limited edition of his favorite book. He remembered telling Jean about it a long time ago. He couldn't believe the boy still remembered.

"I want to go next!" Eren called out. Armin tuned everyone out. He noticed there was a note taped to the back of the book. He read it.

**Armin,**

**This week you got **22 **gifts. Hope you liked them. **

The blonde smiled but he felt something was off. There was not joke or drawing on this note. Only the number 22 was bolded and highlighted… 22…

Armin hesitated before opening his new book to page 22.

There. Another note.

**Merry Christmas! Don't freak out!**

**I like you. Go out with me?**

The blonde stared at the note with the silliest grin stuck on his face. His breath had caught in his throat. He re-read the note a few times before closing the book and putting it down. He stood up, interrupting Connie and Eren's gift exchange, and walked towards Jean who was still looking at the ground with an embarrassed look on his face. Armin bent down and kissed Jean on the cheek.

"Yes." He answered.


	6. Jealousy

**Here's a little one for today!**

**As always, I don't own SNK or any of its characters.**

* * *

There was one thing that Armin hated about Jean: he flirted with people without meaning to. It was just the way he was. Little things like how he would wink thanks to the bartender or chat with the cashier. Armin often found himself feeling very jealous but he knew he didn't have the right to be. They weren't technically together or anything. They had been on a few unofficial dates but that was really it.

One day they were going to have one of their famous unofficial dates at a coffee shop. Armin arrived a bit early and got in line to order. When it was his turn, the barista looked him up and down before smiling.

"What can I get for you, cutie?" Armin blinked in surprise.

_What?_

"A- A mocha latte please." The guy looked at him right in the eye and Armin looked away blushing with embarrassment. The guy gave a laugh that sounded almost… fond.

"Aright! I'll add a cookie into the order; on the house." Armin looked up and the guy winked at him.

_Is he… flirting with me?_

The blonde really didn't know how to react to this. He stuttered. The guy seemed to find it endearing. He took the cup for the blonde's coffee.

"Is your name as cute as the rest of you?" The blue eyed boy hopped he wasn't blushing too badly. For a second he didn't understand what the guy was asking but he saw the marker in his hand.

"A- Armin." The guy looked at him for a moment before smiling down at the cup and writing something down.

"I was right then." The blonde paid for his things and thanked the barista, trying to ignore the way the guy's hand lingered on his own when he handed him the change.

When he stepped away he couldn't help chuckle. Someone had flirted with him? He could hardily believe it.

His coffee was soon ready. He smiled when he saw it next to a plate with a warm cookie on it. He looked back at the guy and mouthed thanks. The guy made a "call me" gesture. Armin blinked in confusion then looked at his cup. There was a number written on it and the name "Eric". Without making any promises, the blonde waved goodbye before walking to an empty table. As he took a bite off his cookie he wondered, if he hadn't met Jean, would he have called?

A few minutes later, Jean arrived. He ruffled Armin's hair in greeting.

"Sorry If I made you wait for long."

"I got here early. Want some cookie?"

Jean didn't order anything. He sat down in front of Armin and they chatted amiable for a while. Armin took a sip of his coffee and Jean caught sight of the writing on his cup.

"Who's Eric?"

Armin almost choked on his drink but he pretended like it was nothing. He gave a slightly nervous chuckled.

"The barista. He was just being nice. He-"

"He flirted with you." Armin blushed and looked away.

"A little." He finally looked up to see Jean glaring daggers at the barista. Was Jean… Jealous?

Armin suddenly really felt like laughing because the idea seemed so ridiculous. Being jealous was Armin's thing not Jean's! Armin let himself smile as he took another sip from his drink.

"That bastard!" Jean suddenly exclaimed with a scowl. He took one of Armin's hands in his own and held it over the table. "You're taken."

The blonde's eyes widened as he stared at Jean. The taller boy blushed and looked away. "Well we've kind of been dating for a while so we are together, no?" Armin laughed.

"But you're always flirting with other people. Even in front of me!" Jean looked genuinely confused.

"I do?" Now he looked guilty. Armin thought he looked like a kicked puppy and that was enough to melt his heart. He reached over the table and gave Jean a tiny kiss on the nose.

"Don't worry about it." Jean smiled brightly. It turned into a smirk when he looking over the blonde's shoulder and saw a disappointed look on Eric's face.


	7. Winter Fun

**Here is the last prompt for Jearmin week! It was really fun! Thank you all for reading and for participating!**

**As always, I don't own SNK or any of its characters.**

* * *

"Armiiin. Wake up." Jean nuzzled the blonde's neck. The younger boy groaned, still half asleep. He lazily lifted an arm and swung it around Jean's neck. The brunette could tell that Armin was trying to pull him into the bed with him. He smiled. "Now don't be lazy. I have a surprise for you downstairs." That caught the boy's attention. He blinked, trying to get rid of the sleepiness in his eyes. He sat up and yawned.

"Good morning." Armin said with a sleepy voice. Jean cupped the blonde's cheek, who leaned into the touch. "What surprise?" The taller boy smirked.

"You'll find out when you come downstairs." Armin groaned.

"The floor is cold! I don't want to walk."

"That's what I'm here for." Jean took his boyfriend into his arms. He began to go down the stars. Armin leaned his head against Jeans chest, rubbing his eyes.

"Have you been awake very long?" The blonde asked. Jean laughed a little.

"It's almost the afternoon! You seem to hibernate during winter."

Armin expected to feel cold when he left the bed, but Jean's body was warm and downstairs seemed to be warm as well.

They walked the last wooden step and Armin could see the living room from there. The chimney had been set up and there were two cups on the center table. Armin smiled.

Jean carried him all the way to the sofa. He set him down and went to get their cups.

"Ta dah! Hot chocolate!" He placed the cup in Armin's hands. The warmth emitting from the drink made the blonde feel dreamy with joy. He felt like the waves of heat coming from the fire and chocolate were those of Jean's affection.

They snuggled in the couch and drank their hot chocolate.

"It really was a great idea to rent this cabin for the winter break." Armin said happily.

"Yeah." Jean said basking in the warmth and affection of the other boy.

A while later they decided to take a walk. They were, after all, in a snow covered mountain. Jean made sure Armin had at least 4 layers of clothing, plus earmuffs, mittens, and a scarf.

Armin rolled his eyes and exclaimed that Jean was being ridiculous, before frowning and ordering him to go put on a warmer jacket.

The two walked side by side through the "winter wonderland". Armin loved snow. He loved its fluffy texture and the way it seemed to sparkle. The blonde threw himself onto the snow covered ground with a laugh. He began to make a snow angel. Jean laid down next to him and made one as well. They stood up to look at their creations. Jean whined.

"Why is mine not as pretty as yours?" They spent a few minutes trying to perfect Jean's snow angel making technique. They failed quite miserable and Jean declared that it was because Armin was an angel himself that he was so talented. Armin rolled his eyes with a smile and bent down to make a snowball. He threw it at Jean, unleashing a war.

Armin's hair was covered in snow and his hands felt numb by the end of it. They sat down next to each other and appreciated the scenery. Suddenly, Armin stood up.

"We need to make a snow man!" So they did. It took much longer than Armin thought it would, but the result made him very proud. He finished by taking off his scarf and setting it around the snowman's neck. He stood next to Jean with a smile. That was when he realized that the scarf was red and it reminded him of a certain someone.

"It's Mikasa!" He exclaimed. Jean blinked before laughing hard. Armin shook his head.

"You don't understand!" He said seriously. "Now we have to make everyone else!"

That was how they found themselves making all of their friend's out of snow. Eren had a big frown made out of two sticks. Sasha had a rock that was supposed to be a piece of bread. They made the Bertolt snowman as tall as possible. So on for everyone.

They took pictures with their group. Jean made sure to give Armin a deep kiss right next to the frowning Eren.

* * *

**That's a wrap!**

**Actually, there was a request for me to keep these prompts going and I've decided that's a good idea. I wont be updating every day but I'll pop in from time to time when I think of something. If you guys have any prompts you would like to see let me know!**


	8. Sketches

**This was just a random idea that came. I promise to do one of those requests after this!**

**As always, I don't own SNK or any of its characters.**

* * *

Jean sighed as he leaned his cheek against his hand. The only sound in the room was the scribbling of his pencil on the big sketchbook paper. He was bored, to say the least. His job requests lately had been very dull. He had just finished sketching an animated character and was now busy with someone's pet hedgehog.

_I think I'll head out to the park when I'm done with this._ Jean mused. _I'll go_ _people watching. Maybe I can find someone interesting to sketch. _

His thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of his phone.

_Huh. New job?_

He put down his pencil and answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey. Is this that sketch artist's number or am I wrong?"

"Yeah I'm Jean kirschtein."

"Ok then! I have a request. I'm not sure how this works." Jean rubbed his face tiredly but spoke patiently.

"Through email you send me the picture you want a sketch of. I also need the deadline, your name, phone number, and obviously your email."

"I know. I'm not that thick…" Just by the voice Jean could already tell he disliked this guy. "My name is Eren Jaeger. I need a sketch for the third of November. Can you manage that?" Jean's face twitched at 'Eren's' annoying tone. He forced himself to sound pleasant.

"Yes. That is more than enough time."

"Yeah well I wanted to make sure that if whoever was doing this ended up procrastinating or doing a half assed job there would be time to fix it." Jean outright scowled. It seemed like Eren didn't like him either.

"There aren't half assed jobs just half assed requests." Jean said before he could stop himself.

"You speak like that to a customer?! Do you want the job or not?!"

"Do you want the sketch or not?!" He expected Eren to yell something back but there was a very sudden pause.

"… I do." He sighed. "I'll send you the picture in a moment. I think it's best that we do the rest of our communication through there as well."

With that, the line went dead. Jean stared at the phone in his hand.

_What's up with that guy?_

He almost slammed the phone down. Now he was definitely not in the mood to finish the hedgehog. He opened his laptop and decided to check his email and see if his newest request had been sent already. It was, in fact. He clicked on the email, which had a picture attached to it and the simple message: _Don't mess this up. It is very important!_

Jean swore.

"Mess it up? I just might on purpose…" He leaned his cheek against his hand again; not feeling in the mood to do a job for an asshole.

That was when he opened the picture.

Thoughts of Eren went away immediately. Jean's entire framed straightened. His eyes widened as he looked at the image, absorbing every detail.

It was the picture of a boy around his age. He was sitting at the base of a tree while reading a book. It was simple and yet it took the brunette's breath away.

It was the boy. Everything about him caught Jean's attention. The way his fingers curled lightly over the book's cover. The way a strand of blonde hair covered his face. The way his bright blue eyes watched the pages with serenity yet interest. The light smile on the boy's face could be defied as nothing but blissful.

It was the most beautiful thing Jean had ever seen.

He stared at the picture for a long time. He focused on the boy's features and body language. He had never wanted to sketch someone so badly in his entire life.

He quickly used the wireless printer and got the picture. Ignoring the hedgehog, Jean opened to a new page and sharpened his pencil. The moment the pencil touched the paper it was like magic. His hand movements flowed and eagerly traced the image of the blonde boy. For a few hours, Jean was sitting at his desk looking back from the picture to his sketch. He didn't feel it. Time could have stopped and Jean would not have noticed. He felt like he never wanted to take his eyes off that boy.

When he was done, Jean could proudly state that it was the best sketch he had ever done. Of course he would insist it was because the origin of the sketch was perfection but it was more than that. It was like Jean's pencil had somehow focused on all of his favorite parts of the picture and had magnified their beauty. In the thrill of the moment he had made the scenery more elaborate adding flowers and leafs flowing in the air and yet the boy was still the highlight of the image. There was such a peacefulness in the finished sketch that Jean for a moment considered not giving it to Eren. That was when he snapped out of his perfect-blonde-boy infused trance.

_Why did Eren ask for a sketch of this boy? Is that… Eren? No. The aura he gave off simply does not fit this person. Then who is he to him?_

Jean decided to not think of that. He looked at the picture and the sketch next to each other. He didn't know which he liked more. They all had their own unique qualities to it. Perhaps a random person would appreciate the sketch more, but Jean felt like he liked the picture more because it was an actual true copy of this boy.

_A random person? You are a random person!_

The brunette looked at the sketch. The thought of going back to his other requests seemed ridiculous. He never wanted to sketch something or someone that wasn't that blonde boy.

_Ok, Dangerous thought!_

Jean didn't think much of this sudden infatuation. As an artist he had an appreciation for beautiful things (including people) so he wasn't confused or weirded out, but it getting in the way of his work was a different matter entirely.

Jean sighed and took out an envelope were he set all of his finished works. Giving the sketch one last long glance he put it away.

He looked at the clock and saw that it was late already.

_I should close the store and head out for dinner._

He turned off all the lights, took his casual sketchbook (meaning the one he "doodled" on, not the one he used for work), and began to walk out the door. He found himself stopping, sighing in defeat, and going back to his desk to take the picture of the blonde and putting it inside his sketchbook.

* * *

There was a local sea food restaurant nearby. Jean took a seat at a table mindlessly ordered whatever the cheff recommended. He tried to fight it, but he ended up taking out the picture of the blonde. He set it on the table and looked at it for a long time.

_If only I could see those bright blue eyes for myself…_

Jean blushed. That was not "artistic apretiation"! What was he thinking? He tried to distract himself by looking around the restaurant. The wall were painted with different gradiants of blue and decorated with ocean themed objects.

A sudden image appeared in Jean's mind and the brunette knew there was no use in fighting it.

"I'm done for." He muttured while opening his sketchbook. He hesitated, his pencil hovering over the page.

_If I do this there is no going back. It wont be just one: you know that!_

But the image in his mind was too insistent and beautiful.

"Fuck it."

He began to draw. Even with no reference image, Jean was able to easily create a beautiful oceanic background. The restaurant was known for taking its dear time so Jean was able to get quite advanced by the time the food got there. The blonde's basic silhouette was there. His back was to the "camera" but his chest was slightly twisted as if he was about to turn towards you. His face wasn't done yet but his hair was being blown back and the "camera" would be able to catch sight of his bright eyes.

"Wow! That's amazing! Are you an artist?" The waitress said as she looked over Jean's shoulder. The brunette gave a startled jump, snapping out of his trance. How long had the woman been standing there with his food? How had he not noticed he was being watched? He sighed and looked at his work.

"Yeah. I am." He took the blonde's picture and looked at it. The waitress made a sound of endearment.

"He's so cute. Is that your model?" For no reason, Jean blushed.

"You could say that."

He set the picture inside the sketchpad and closed it.

* * *

A week had passed since he had gotten the picture of the blonde from Eren. Since that day he had already made 8 sketches: The blonde standing at the ocean shore looking back at the "camera". The blonde curled up on a couch with a cup of coffee held in his delicate hands with light smile. The blonde asleep over a desk, his hair slightly messed up. The blonde looking up at a sky full of fireworks (you'd think those would be the main focus of the sketch and yet all those explosions did was light up his face). Every little thing inspired Jean. The more sketches he made the more enamored he was with this person.

It got to the point where he desperately wanted another picture for reference. He had studied the blonde so much that he was pretty much able to sketch him in every form but his heart yearned to see more than an instant of this boy's life. He also wanted to know this person's name.

So he decided to take a risk. He called Eren.

"Hello?"

"Hey, um, it's Jean. You know, the artist."

"Oh. You. Why are you calling? Couldn't do the drawing?"

_Hold your temper! This is important! Come on, like you rehearsed._

"That's not it. I just wanted to let you know that you, um, turned out to be my 50th client this month so you get a free sketch. So, you can send me another picture of…" He left that hanging there, hoping Eren would fill it in.

"Armin! Yes! That's great!" Jean had the silliest smile on his face.

_Armin_. The faces in his sketches finally had a name.

"I'll send them right away! Don't disappoint! They are for a birthday present." Eren exclaimed. Jean's eyes widened. He was recieveing more information than he had even hoped for.

"Huh, re-really? So, November the third… that's this, um" He pretended not to remember the name. "…Armin's birthday?"

"Yes! So get to work!" The line went dead but Jean didn't even feel annoyed.

_Armin! Armin! Armin!_

He could chant that name from the highest rooftop. He eagerly opened his laptop and impatiently waited for a new email. Soon there it was. He opened it and ignored another threat from Eren as he clicked on the attachment.

The picture opened. Jean felt like his chest was going to burst. The picture was even more simple than the one before and yet it was more than Jean could ever ask for. The blonde… Armin… was laughing. It was such a pure and honest expression and it tugged dangerously at Jean's heartstrings.

That was when he became sure.

_That's it. I've fallen and I've fallen __**bad**__._

* * *

Finally the day had come. November the third. Eren had sent him an email that they would be dropping by the shop at some point in the afternoon to pick up the sketches.

That's right: _they_.

The thought of seeing his "muse" in the flesh turned Jean into a nervous reck. Armin was just too… perfect. Suddenly he felt like the room was too messy or the store was not in the prettiest part of town. In the store there were some of his proudest sketches hanging on the walls but now he thought they all seemed mediocre. The only ones he felt were worth hanging up were the ones of the blonde but a part of him also wanted to keep those images just to himself.

He tried to plan what he would do when the blonde came in. If he panicked and let the chance pass he might never see Armin again.

So Jean stared at the door for a long time, waiting for it to be opened by the blonde that haunted his mind. Then he heard a voice. His entire body became rigid.

"Slow down! Hehe. What is this place?" Jean knew that was Armin's voice. The tone just fit his face perfectly.

"You'll see. Wait here!' A brunette with green eyes walked into the store. He raised an eyebrow when he saw the taller boy.

"Jean? You have a horse face." That comment was actually able to snap him out of his awe-struck trance from hearing Armin's voice.

"Who are you calling horse face!?"

"Yep. You're Jean. Where're the drawings?" Eren neared the desk. Jean muttered something under his breath as he passed him the envelope.

"Why is… um… Armin…outside?"

"I had to make sure the drawing weren't shit." Jean scowled but got his revenge when Eren laid eyes on the sketches. He looked genuinely shocked.

"These are… amazing." Eren stated wide-eyed, then he snapped out of it. "For a horse face." Jean rolled his eyes and decided not to grace that comment with an answer. Eren went back outside.

"It's time! Come in."

"I'm going! You don't have to pull me!" His tone was light and humorous. It sounded like music to Jean's ears. The moment Eren dragged the blonde in, Jean froze.

There he was. The boy Jean had only ever seen 2 instances of was now living, breathing, _moving_, before him. It was overwhelming.

_I wish I could sketch him right now._

Jean watched those curious and intelligent blue eyes sweep over the store making him feel self conscious. They neared the desk and Jean felt his heart beat like mad.

Armin's eyes landed on his and the brunette felt like he could faint.

"Good evening." The boy said pleasantly. "Did you make all of these? You are quite talented."

Jean couldn't speak. His mouth had gone dry and he thought he was dreaming.

_He spoke to me! He said I was talented!_

Thankfully Eren forced himself in.

"I guess you know what we're here for, huh?" The blonde gave a teasing grin that made Jean's heart flutter.

"Hmm… a sketch?" He wondered sarcastically. Eren laughed.

"This is your first present. I'm taking you somewhere else after this."

_He's going to go away soon! You need to do something!_

Eren took the envelope that was on the desk and gave it to Armin.

"Here you go!" The blonde took the envelope carefully (_I want to sketch that!_) and smiled at Eren before opening it.

Jean had never cared about someone's judgment so much in his entire life. What would he think? Would he like them? Would he be creped out?

He would have happily given up 10 years of his life to have been able to take a picture of Armin when he saw the sketches. His eyes widened with awe and wonder. He took out the drawings as if they were the most delicate thing on earth. He stared at them, unblinking, for a very long time. Finally he looked up, surprisingly, at Jean.

"Did you do these?" His voice was barely more than a whisper and it made a chill go down the taller boy's spine. Miraculously, he found his voice.

"Y-yeah." The brightest smile he had ever seen suddenly appeared on the blonde's face.

"They're… beautiful. I don't know what to say."

_That makes two of us. _They were both staring into each other's eyes as if there was a force that wouldn't let them look away.

"What's your name?" Armin asked.

"J-Jean." The brunette stuttered. The blonde's face softened.

"Jean." The name sounded sweet in Armin's voice and the brunette willed himself to record the sound in his memory forever. The blonde unconsciously pressed the drawings close to his chest. "Thank you."

Their dreamlike state was interrupted by a scowling Eren.

"Hey I'm the one who ordered them!" Armin laughed and Jean decided Eren couldn't be such a bad person if he was the cause of that sound.

"Sorry. Thank you too, Eren." The brunette suddenly took the blonde's arm.

"Glad you liked it! Let's get going then." He began to pull Armin away. Jean panicked.

"W-wait!" Armin forced Eren to stop and turned back.

"Yes, Jean?" Jean found himself forgetting what he was going to say when he made contact with those bright blue orbs again. He stuttered.

"A-a well I- heard it's your b-birthday so… here!" He took a post-it and quickly scribbled his name, phone number, and email. He stretched his arm, looking away with a slight blush. "It's my information… from now on you can have all the free sketches you want." He gulped nervously. "Happy birthday…"

He felt selfish. This was more for him to, if he couldn't get to know the blonde, at least he would still be able to look at him. He looked back up just to see Armin staring at him with a shocked expression.

"F-free sketches? Forever? That's too much!" Jean found himself laughing.

"Yep. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity." Armin pulled away from Eren and walked to Jean's desk. His eyes were still wide as he took the post-it. When their skin made contact Jean almost shivered. The blonde looked back at Jean.

"Are you sure?" The blonde asked again. Jean looked at the boy before him and smiled fondly.

"Positive." Armin relaxed and let himself smile.

"Alright. I will definitely contact you soon." With that, Eren came forward and pulled the blonde out of the store. Armin waved goodbye before he disappeared through the door.

Jean let go of a giant breath he didn't know he was holding. It was a mixture of relief and simple bliss.

_I will definitely contact you soon. _

It didn't promise a future, but it granted one thing: hope.

Jean smiled as he took out his notebook. He had a lot to sketch.

* * *

**There you go! I might make a sequel but probably not.**


	9. Red Flag

**I know I said I would write a requested prompt but this idea was just too insisting.**

**I wrote this story for the "Red Flag" campaign which focuses on awareness for damaging relationships. I was going to post it separately but decided to just add it to this little group of prompts.**

* * *

Armin gave a content sigh as he walked through the campus to his first class of the new semester. He let himself smile to the people walking by him and give occasional waves. It had been a month since he had broken off his relationship with Reiner and he was finally starting to regain some self worth. The taller blonde had been very… possessive to say the least. It had started so sweet and loving but it became twisted. Somehow Reiner had convinced him that everyone else looked down on him and would mistreat him and hurt him and only he would treat him right. Everyday he would whisper in his ear how he had no friends and how they all thought he was too weak and useless. He kept him away from everyone and made him feel like he was worthless.

Armin wanted to end it but in some cruel way he had become dependent of the taller blonde. After hearing those things for so long it was hard to not believe them. Soon he truly thought that everyone hated him and was too afraid to leave the other boy's side.

"Armin! Wait up!" The blue eyed boy blinked and looked towards the source of the voice. Eren, his childhood friend, ran up to him.

Eren had been there since the start. He saw how the relationship took a dark turn and he was the one who pulled Armin out. It was one day where Eren had confronted the blonde about how he had been avoiding him for so long and how unhealthy he looked that Armin broke down crying and told him everything. After that, Eren made sure that Armin got the attention he needed and slowly but surely he was able to get back on his feet.

Armin laughed and began to talk to Eren. Their friendship had been back to its usual fullness almost immediately, but he had struggled in general. After a month he was finally staring to feel more confident about himself and feel like he was deserving of other people's company. It still scared him to open up to people. He could almost hear a whisper in the back of his mind telling him that they would hurt him but he pushed it away. They wouldn't hurt him. The whisper would hurt him.

But the whisper had once been a person. People can be cruel and he really did have to be careful.

Making friends was hard for Armin, to say the least, but he was getting the hang of it again. He could talk to people now without trembling and his smiles were no longer fake. He finally felt like this pressure over his shoulders had been lifted and he was truly free.

They stopped in front of a building.

"Well I gotta go all the way over there," Eren pointed to another building. "See you in lunch!" Armin waved goodbye before entering and heading to his classroom.

He had set as a goal for himself that he would be more outgoing. The therapist had told him that there was nothing wrong with wanting to stick to himself after something like that, but the blonde knew he had to open himself up now before he found himself incapable of doing so. There was still the constant fear, but he had to fight it.

As he entered the classroom for his first class, which was literature, he looked at the empty seats. He was about to take one at the front like he always did (Armin usually did very well in his studies but when the Reiner thing was at its climax he had been failing almost all tests due to stress). He stopped when he caught side of a new student sitting at a desk by the window. He was looking out with a bored expression on his face. No one seemed to be paying much attention to him. Armin knew he had just been thinking about making new friends, but now that the opportunity was there the fear had increased quite a lot. He forced himself to get a grip as he walked to the desk behind the new boy.

There. He sat down.

But now he truly felt stuck. He looked at the boy's back for a second then down at his desk. What could he say? Should he even say anything? Maybe he would just bother him.

_Who would want to talk to you?_

Armin felt a stab in his chest. He forced the whispers to go away.

He really should be saying something. That is the reason why he took that seat in the first place. He had been so excited about the idea just a moment ago! Don't back down now! It would probably-

"Are you alright?" Armin blinked, startled. He looked up. The new guy was turned around facing him. He stuttered a bit. "Sorry, it's just that… you had a troubled expression."

Oh if only he knew he was thinking about whether or not he should talk to him! Looks like that doesn't matter anymore. Armin reproached himself over how stupid he was for not being able to speak to the guy first, when the guy in question looked down. "Sorry, I'll just…. Yeah." He began to turn away. The blonde panicked a bit.

"I'm Armin!" The guy gave a small jump before turning back to the blonde. His nervousness seemed to suddenly go away as he grinned.

"I'm Jean." The blonde smiled and he let out a small and relieved breath. Mission accomplished, well, if that could even be called making friends. The brunette looked at the blonde's desk. He raised an eyebrow at the book that was on it.

"That's a big piece of literature you got there. Impressive." Armin looked at it and felt a bit self conscious. "Are you much of a bookworm?"

"I guess you could say that. I read all the time." The boy's smile was still bright and Armin wondered how he could still be interested in him.

"Cool. I've never been one for reading. Not that good at math either. I suck actually."

"I could help you!" Armin found himself saying. He wanted to look away and force himself to stop talking but for some reason he couldn't. It was probably the nerves that seemed to be eating him alive. Did normal people feel like this when they talked to strangers or was it just because of his situation? "I-I'm in advanced placement."

Jean's eyes widened.

"Really? Thanks! It would just be really horrible to start the year on the wrong foot in my worst subject." Armin couldn't believe what he had just offered but he didn't regret it. It made him happy to see Jean so glad. Maybe he really would get a new friend.

The teacher cleared her throat, signifying the beginning of the class.

"There's a break after another period right? Want to get some coffee?"

Armin felt his heart clench with something similar to excitement.

"Sure." He let himself say. Jean sent him one last grin before turning to the teacher. Armin couldn't really pay attention. All he could think about was what he had just done.

He looked out the window and felt happier than he had in a very long time.

"I'm really moving forward. Everything is going to be fine now."

The bell rang for the next class. Jean walked by his side to the door. Armin lead him to his next class and waved goodbye before going to his own. Advance placement calculus. He tried to focus, he really did, but all he could think about was the new guy.

He couldn't say he was proud of himself for taking the risk and talking to him considering Jean was the one who spoke first and who thought of getting coffee, but it had been Armin who had offered to tutor him. That in itself was huge. It meant possible future compromise and maybe even friendship.

He looked around and realized that he didn't really know any of the people in his class that well. Should he try to talk to them?

The blonde shook his head and looked down, rubbing his arm comfortingly. One new friend is more than enough really.

A shiver went down his spine as the memory of a whisper flew past his ear

_You think you have friends? They are just there to tease you. I bet they make fun of you behind your back. They think you are weak and stupid with your big eyes and girly face. I would never say that to you. I will always be here for you._

"Stop it." Armin said forcefully. He fought the impulse to cover his ears, for he knew those whispers weren't something that could be silenced that way. They were rooted much deeper and they were much harder to get rid of.

After that class, Armin made his way to the coffee shop that was in the school grounds. He jokingly wondered if Jean would even be able to find it, considering he was new and all. He forced away the whispers saying that the guy had just been playing with him and he wasn't going to show up.

"Armin!" The blonde looked towards the source of the voice. Jean made his way around the other students until he was at the shorter boy's side. As he got there, Armin wondered how Jean had been able to remember his name… then he realized he remembered Jean's perfectly (but he had also been thinking about him all last period and that thought on its own was embarrassing enough. He really needed to level up on this 'self confidence' thing).

"I was wondering if you got lost." Armin commented.

"I did a few times but I got my way around." He seemed pretty proud and Armin couldn't help laugh a little.

"Come on, let's order something."

The line was pretty long; everyone needed their morning coffee. Armin and Jean chatted as they waited.

The blonde was glad to notice that he wasn't trembling anymore. He also noticed that, as he laughed at one of Jean's jokes, the tension his shoulders always had when he spoke to anyone went away.

"That'll be 5 dollars for each."

"I got it!" Jean took out his wallet.

"Don't be stupid, Jean. I'll pay for my own."

"Armin, you don't seem to understand what tutoring me is going to be like. Even a saint like you wont be able to stand it for very long. This is the least I can do."

Armin hadn't felt this at ease in a long time. Even being with Eren kind of put him on edge cause he was a bit crazy and intense.

_He is only with you cause it's for his best interest. He isn't your friend._

They sat down at one of the tables available. Jean took out the mock quiz they had taken to see what they knew. There were easy, medium, and hard questions. In theory you should get all the easy ones right, most of the medium ones right, and some of the hard ones right. Armin stared at Jean's quiz in shock. It wasn't a mean sort of shock just a surprised "I didn't expect it to be this bad" sort of shock. He had half of the easy ones right, most of the medium wrong, and all the hard wrong.

Jean winced at Armin's expression and groaned.

"I suck. I know." Armin stuttered and tried to laugh it off.

"It's not that bad!" Jean let his head fall against the table with a loud thud that made Armin jump and look at the brunette with concern.

"Admit it. I'm hopeless." It a fit of bravery Armin let his hand rise and he patted Jean's head.

"There, there." He said jokingly, then went to a more serious tone. "If you are motivated enough, you can do it. I promise to help you as much as I can but you have to assure me that you'll give it all you've got." Jean raised his head and something akin to hope shined in his eyes.

"I will!" Armin smiled and nodded. He opened his backpack and took out his math notebook.

"This one is from last semester but there was a problem that introduces this concept very well. I think If I can successfully explain that to you then we will have a good solid base to start from."

They spent the rest of their break doing that problem. Jean got frustrated with himself but always kept trying. Armin patiently repeated himself whenever he needed to and always made his explanations as thorough as necessary. Jean was really impressed to say the least.

"Thanks for doing this, by the way." He said suddenly. "At my old school the tutors were the teachers that had nothing else to do and they were all ugly and old." He suddenly blushed and stuttered. "Not that I'm saying that you are- which you are, but- I mean-." Armin blinked, confused. Jean looked like a deer in the headlights. He looked away and sighed. A forced change of demeanor took place. He tried to give a confident grin but it really didn't work and Armin gave a small laugh. That sound on its own seemed to calm Jean down. "You're cute." He finally said. It was Armin's turn to blush. His chest tightened.

When was the last time someone called him that? He would fear to say Reiner, but the truth was that the taller boy had called him nothing but weak and useless for a very long time. He hadn't complimented him since they first started dating.

It felt… nice.

"I think the math is starting to fry your brain." The blonde joked.

"Probably," Jean agreed and Armin felt a sting of disappointment "but I've been thinking that since I saw you in literature." Well, there goes his heart.

"You said I looked troubled. How is that cute?" The blonde pouted.

"Well I thought if someone could look that well when being so sad then imagine with a smile on their face." Jean took a dab of whipped cream and poked Armin's nose. The blonde squealed. He gave Jean an angry look before he began to laugh.

The bell rang and people began to move faster around them.

"Time's up." Said the blonde. He reached for a napkin. They were closer to Jean.

"Hehe, I'll get it. It was my fault after all." Armin leaned forward and he suddenly had a flashback of him leaning in to kiss Reiner. There was a violent pain in his chest. Not the kind of pain that comes with missing something. It was the pain of regret and disgust.

But the feeling of Jean's fingers as they dabbed at his nose suddenly made him forget all about the taller blonde.

"Done." He said. They stood up and moved to the trashcan to throw away their drinks.

"Oh! You missed a spot." The blonde said. Jean tilted his head.

"Where?" Armin quickly took some whipped cream from Jean's cup and poked the boy on the cheek.

"There!"

* * *

The next few days Armin fell into a comfortable schedule. He would go to school, spend break with Jean, spend lunch with Eren (cause apparently those two hated each other so there was no chance of all of them hanging out together) then tutored Jean in the library afterschool. Jean really did give it his all and Armin was very proud of his best (and only) student. There were days though were Jean just didn't feel like working and would just be poking around Armin and trying to make him laugh.

"Let's have lunch after this."

"You haven't answered this question, Jean."

"You didn't answer mine!"

"But this _is_ why we are here."

"Come on! I'm hungry. I'll put more attention if I know I get a prize in the end."

"Are passing grades not prize enough?"

"Armiiiin!"

"Fine!"

And that is how they ended up at a pizza restaurant near the school.

Whenever they were hanging out Jean would give one or two obvious hints that he was hitting on Armin and the blonde would pretend not to notice. He would pretend that those words didn't make his heart beat faster. He would ignore how close they were next to each other as they sat in the library. He would pretend that it made sense that the only reason they were holding hands was because it was so cold outside.

He would pretend because he wasn't ready. His last relationship had left him more than broken and he didn't know if he would be able to survive something like that again. The fear was always there, but as he walked down the hallway laughing by Jean's side he thought that maybe, just maybe, he would be able to let go of the past.

A tall silhouette watched them as they walked away. He clenched his fists.

* * *

"Armin. I love you." The two boys were lying on the floor of Armin's living room. Jean was staying over after studying all day. They had set up some blankets on the floor before the television where they had curled up to have their deserved rest. The blonde had soon found himself in a comfortable position in Jean's arms. His head rested against the brunette's chest and he could hear his steady heart beat. When Jean said those words Armin didn't feel surprised. He knew this day would come sooner or later. The two boys were pretty much aware of each other's feelings but knew that there was something in the way. It was time to talk it out.

"I know." The blonde muttered.

"Then tell me…" Jean rubbed Armin's arm comfortingly. The blonde was quiet for a while but Jean gave him time. He would give him all the time he needed.

Armin wanted to tell Jean. He trusted him enough to know that he wouldn't hurt him with this information and that Jean truly cared about him.

"A month ago…" he began. Jean tensed, paying attention to every word. "I broke up with my boyfriend. Our relationship was… bad. So bad. Now that I think about it all of the signs were there. It was so dysfunctional and damaging but… at that time I felt like there was nothing I could do about it. He convinced me that everybody hated me and I left all my friends. My grades suffered a lot and my psychology as well. I lost every ounce of self confidence I ever had. I even started cutting…" Armin let himself look into Jean's eyes. The brunette had an understanding look, which turned to horror at the last bit. He tightened his hold on the blonde.

"Armin…" The blonde sighed. It felt so good to get that off his chest. He let his head rest against Jean's chest once again. He closed his eyes.

"It's hard for me to open up to people now. I'm scared. Not of you but of being in that situation again. It has been so hard to get back on my feet but I'm doing it. You're helping me. Thanks to you I'm letting go of those bad memories. I thought I was done with love. That I would never feel this way again…" He felt Jean take his chin. Armin opened his eyes to find the brunette's caring gaze.

"I understand. I don't want you to feel pressured in any way. Just know that I love you and I will always be here for you in whatever way you need me. Friend? Boyfriend? It's fine. I love you. That's what matters." Armin felt his eyes become watery.

"I know. Thank you." Jean let him go and just held him for a long time. Eventually, Armin spoke. "I think I'm ready." Jean's eyes widened.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I want to be your boyfriend."

* * *

Armin knew he had made the right choice. The whispers had never been as quiet. It sounded so silly but Jean was the sun of his life. He made him feel happy and worthwhile again. Sometimes he could even forget about the past and just think of the future. Eren had come to accept Jean when he saw the effect it had on his best friend. Apparently the two had had a long talk and had already declared their intentions of protecting the blonde so a sort of truce had been reached. Armin was glad because that meant they could al hang out together.

Everything was going so wonderfully great that Armin was afraid it wouldn't last. One day that fear seemed to stick out it's ugly head.

Armin and Jean had been walking through the hallway holding hands and talking to each other when the blonde froze. Standing before them was Reiner. His eyes stared at the intertwined fingers of the two boys before him. His entire body was shaking. Armin had gone pale and Jean immediately knew who this was.

"Hey! Get out of the way!" He called out angrily. That seemed to snap the taller blonde out of his trance. His eyes went to Jean and the two stared intensely at each other. Armin felt a sudden need to protect the brunette.

"Reiner." He found himself calling out. His voice sounded dead to him but at least there was no fear in it. The taller blonde's eyes moved to the figure of his infatuation. "You should not be here. You were expelled." Armin stated. He could tell the boy before him was not in his right mind.

"Armin…" Reiner seemed to choke. Jean's hold on the boy's hand tightened. The way Reiner said Armin's name made shivers go down his spine.

"Leave. It's over." His voice was emotionless but stern. He held his breath as Reiner finally looked away and ran off. He felt his knees buckle but Jean caught him.

"Are you alright?" Jean asked concerned. Armin nodded and began to laugh.

"I'm more than alright Jean. It's over… it's finally over…" He hugged him and began to cry.

* * *

"Thank you so much, Armin! That was the best dinner ever!"

"I just knew you were going to love that restaurant." Armin and Sasha walked out of the building laughing and talking together. One of Armin's goals had also been to reconnect with all of the friends he had lost because of what happened. Sasha and him had been quite close but had drifted apart. He had started to hang out with them again and it truly made him happy. Jean encouraged him to do so and kept telling him how proud he was of him. That warmed Armin more than even getting his friends back did.

They had made their way to the parking lot when a tall figure appeared before them. This person had a maniac look in their eyes and seemed to almost be sobbing. Their entire body was shaking violently and they seemed to be holding a gun. Armin and Sasha froze when they noticed this. Armin's heart beat like crazy. He made eye contact with the person before them. Without looking away, the blonde lightly touched Sasha's shoulder.

"Go back to the restaurant. Lock or barricade the door. Call the police…" Something in his eyes changed. "No… call an ambulance."

Sasha's eyes were wide with fear. She didn't seem to be understanding what the blonde was saying.

"B-but-"

"Do as I say." His tone left no room for argument. Sasha whimpered before quickly making her way to the building. It caught the attention of the person standing before them and he began to raise his hand.

"Reiner!" The blonde called back his attention. The boy's wild eyes found the blue ones once again. "Reiner. I need you to calm down. Everything is going to be fine." For a moment Armin wondered if he was talking to himself.

The taller boy seemed to break. He gave a cry and raised his arm. His gun was pointed at Armin. The blonde felt cold fear grip his heart.

"Reiner. You need to stop this. It's over between us. You need to let me go." Tears began to roll down the taller boy's cheeks. The gun trembled in his grip.

"I can't…"

* * *

Sasha had never been more terrified in her entire life. The moment she entered the restaurant she yelled that there was an armed man outside and that they needed to lock the door. The people in charge did that while everyone took cover under tables. The brown haired girl ran to a window and saw the man point his gun at Armin. With trembling hands, Sasha took out her phone and dialed.

"911 what's your emergency?"

"Help! Please! My friend! There's an armed man outside and he's… he's with him. Please send help!"

"Calm down, ma'am. Is anyone hurt?"

"No, no, but please ju-" Suddenly a gunshot was heard and Sasha screamed as she watched Armin's body crumble to the ground. "NO! ARMIN!" She covered her mouth trying to muffle her cries of horror.

"Ma'am! Was someone just shot? Ma'am!" She couldn't hear him. She was too focused on how the man cried and moved foreword as if he wanted to reach for the fallen boy. He stopped himself and suddenly moved the gun to his own head. Sasha screamed again.

* * *

Jean had never driven so fast in his entire life.

_This is a nightmare. This is nothing but a terrible nightmare._

He could still hear Sasha's cries on the phone in the back of his mind but the meaning of her words had not truly registered yet.

The fear inside him was eating him alive. He couldn't deal with it anymore. The moment he arrived at the hospital he ran into the emergency room and to the first nurse he could find.

"E-excuse me. They brought someone in. Someone who… got s-shot. B-blonde boy…" He couldn't muster the words properly but the nurse seemed to understand.

"They brought in two boys with gunshots around 20 minutes ago. One arrived dead but the other is in surgery. That is all I know." Jean felt his heart go cold.

_Dead…_

Jean stared at the ground feeling nothing but pain echoing inside him.

_He can't be… that's not true… maybe that wasn't him…_

But it could be. Jean gasped for breath. He suddenly felt like was drowning. He leaned against the wall and tried to keep himself standing. A nurse stopped what she was doing and helped him to the waiting room. There he saw Sasha, Eren, and Mikasa sitting. They stood up when they saw him and gave him a group hug. He held on to them tightly. His eyes wide in fear.

"A-armin…" He begged for some explanation. Mikasa answered.

"He's in surgery." Jean looked at her before giving a relieved laugh and rubbing his face.

_He's alive. _

"I-I heard someone died. I thought…" Surprisingly it was Eren who set a hand on his shoulder.

"It was Reiner. He shot Armin then himself." His voice sounded dead and Jean would have actually been concerned if it wasn't for the information he had just received. He felt sudden anger fill him.

_That guy hadn't had enough with ruining Armin's life?! He just had to take it away too!? _

But the anger went away as fast as it came.

_He's dead now. He killed himself. In some way he is a victim too. _

They all sat down and waited. It was the most torturous and awful moment of Jean's life. All he saw was the image of Armin smiling in his mind and thinking that if that was taken away from him he wouldn't know how to cope. Eren and Mikasa didn't seem to be handling this any better. Eren had the air of someone who had already grieved for days and Mikasa was obviously fighting tears.

After what felt like a lifetime a doctor came out.

"Armin Arlert?" The 4 of them stood up and made their way to the man. They all watched him expectantly. "He was very fortunate. The bullet didn't hit any vital organs, there was just a lot of bleeding but he got here right on time. He will be fine."

The relief that filled everyone was so tangible it could be cut with a knife. Mikasa finally let her tears fall and Eren seemed to regain the light in his eyes. Sasha looked like she could faint. Jean pressed a hand over his chest tightly and laughed because that was what he had almost lost: his very heart.

Even though Armin was still under anesthesia they insisted they wanted to see him. Covered by those white sheets and connected to all those beeping machines the blonde looked so small and fragile, but he was there. He was alive. Jean reached him first. He caressed his face and hair before planting a loving kiss on his forehead.

"You're ok. I'm so glad you're ok." He buried his face against the blonde's neck.

* * *

When Armin awoke he felt someone holding his hand. He opened his eyes tiredly and saw a lot of white.

"Armin!" The blonde blinked and looked at the source of the voice. He smiled weakly.

"Jean." Armin was happy to see him but his mind hadn't really registered what was happening. Then he remembered. His eyes widened and the tell tale machine showed his increasing heart rate. Jean cupped his cheek.

"Hey, hey it's ok. Everything's fine." The blonde took deep breaths trying to ignore the pain in his torso.

"R-reiner?" He asked. Jean shook his head.

"He's gone." The blonde's eyes widened before nodding.

"I thought… he might do that…" Jean passed his fingers through Armin's hair comfortingly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Armin looked into Jean's eyes. He nodded.

_I thought I would never see you again… _

"The last thing he told me was that this was the only way we could be together." Jean felt pained by his words. "For a moment I thought he was just going to threaten me into getting back together with him. Then I realized…" The brunette pressed his forehead against Armin's own. The blonde gave a sad laugh. Tears began to roll down his cheeks. "I really thought I was going to die. My biggest regret was not being able to say goodbye to you."

Jean pulled back and took hold of Armin's shoulders.

"Now you don't have to. We have the rest of our lives ahead of us." Armin smiled.

"What happened… was horrible, but in some way… it's closure." The blonde looked to the side and smiled when he saw Eren and Mikasa asleep on the couch. He turned back to Jean and kissed him.

He finally felt at peace.

* * *

**This is based on a real story. I changed the ending because If I would have kept what really happened then Armin would be dead. Dysfunctional relationships can be very dangerous so everyone look out for the signs and be careful. **


	10. In Another Life

**Reincarnation AU! There are so many things I could have done with this idea but this is what I think the most realistic occurrence would be. **

**As always, I don't own SNK or any of its characters.**

* * *

The sound of chattering voices brought a smile to Armin's face. He didn't know what it was about it exactly that comforted him. Maybe it was the idea of so many lives and stories happening at the same time without being aware of one another.

_Or maybe it's just that they are alive._

The blonde shook his head and kept walking absentmindedly through the mall. He wondered if he should go into a store but he didn't have any money so there would be no point.

That was when he looked ahead and made eye contact with someone. He froze and the other person did so as well. Armin felt shock hitting him in waves as he kept looking at those eyes. They were so familiar. He knew this person. He knew him well.

But he had never seen him before; he was sure. The brunette before him blinked and gave a lopsided grin that made Armin's chest stir with emotions he couldn't quite point out.

"Hey." He said, and even his voiced seemed so _his_. "Um… this is going to sound weird but… do I know you? I feel like I know you."

Armin smiled back.

"Yeah… I feel the same."

They both looked at each other. It should have been awkward, staring at a stranger for so long, but it wasn't. It was like their eyes couldn't get enough of each other, like their subconscious had connected and couldn't believe they were standing in front of each other.

Armin opened his mouth to speak but someone else's voice resonated instead of his own.

"Jean!" A girl walked out of a store and made her way to the brunette. She laced her arm with his and smiled. "I found it! We can leave now."

Armin blinked. The enchantment that had been over them a moment ago had been broken and he had never felt so disorientated in his entire life. The other guy, Jean, looked the same. He stared at the girl for a moment as if he had forgotten who she was before his mind cleared up.

"Right. Um…" He looked back at Armin who suddenly felt very out of place. The girl looked at the blonde and tilted her head with confusion.

"Who's this?" She asked. Before Jean could say anything, Armin interrupted.

"No one. I'm sorry to have bothered you." Without looking back, he walked away and tried to ignore the burning ache inside his chest.

* * *

As the girl pulled Jean away, she began to chat cheerfully but the boy couldn't pay attention. The image of the blonde boy with the bright blue eyes was still in his mind. It felt wrong to let him go like that and he felt his head pulsing as if disagreeing with what he had just done. He looked back and saw the boy's silhouette move farther and farther away.

_Maybe in another life…_


	11. I Care

**I got inspired and wrote all of this in one sitting. I'm going to fail my chemistry exam tomorrow but it was worth it.**

**As always, I don't own SNK or any of its characters.**

* * *

There's a student in his biology class that Jean really can't stop staring at. It's because of his looks. He had blonde hair which was just above his shoulders and mesmerizing blue eyes.

Yes, he was beautiful. Yet that wasn't really what Jean meant by looks.

He always had this look of absolute boredom. His entire posture depicted an image of exhaustion. Not the type you have after doing something physically demanding but more like even sitting there wasn't worth the effort. Those beautiful eyes seemed always absent and Jean had never seen a single emotion cross through them. He always thought that they could have easily been made of ice.

This student's name was Armin Arlert. He had the best grades in his entire generation but Jean had never once seen him happy about a test result.

Yes, it was his beauty that got Jean to first pay attention to him but it was his looks that made him an ever-present question in the teacher's mind.

He often wondered why the boy was like that. He hadn't meant to stare but soon it was that way every class. Jean simply couldn't shake a thought out of his head.

_He is too young to look so dead. _

So he began to research. He found out who his old elementary teachers used to be. Luckily one of them turned out to be a friend of his.

"Hey, Connie! Do you remember a blonde kid called Arlert every being in your class?"

The teacher looked thoughtful for a moment before snapping his fingers.

"Yeah of course! He was a silly little thing. He would get all excited every time a new topic would be announced. He was real smart too. I remember he was always reading. He loved it!... Jean?" The other teacher was staring in shock at him.

"A-are you sure we're talking about the same person? Arlert? Armin Arlert?"

"Yeah I'm sure. Why? Why are you even asking?" Suddenly Connie smirked. "Oh, don't tell me you got a crush." Jean's shocked expression turned into a scowl.

"What are you even saying! Of course not!" Connie hummed in response.

"Well you may say that now but the truth is that when you have someone stuck in your head you've already fallen for them." Jean threw a book at his head.

That information had brought more questions than answers.

_He used to be… __**exited**__ about learning? He… __**loved**__ reading? What happened!?_

These questions kept rattling in his head as he gave his lessons. He kept glancing at the blonde who was simply staring at his empty desk.

_That's it. I have to do something._

So he made a plan. The blonde always seemed like he didn't care, but would he react to a bad grade?

Jean couldn't just give him a zero but he marked a question incorrectly just to see what would happen.

He gave them to a student to pass them around. "I have a meeting to attend to, so if you have any questions about your grade come see me after school." With that he began to walk away. He could feel his heartbeat increasing.

_Please do something. Please react. _

Out of the corner of his eye, Jean looked at the blonde as he was handed his exam. He set it down and rested his chin against his hand. For a moment Jean thought he wasn't even going to look at it but he caught those blue eyes hovering over the test for an instant.

**There**

The boy blinked in the closest thing to surprise Jean had ever seen him express. The teacher could have given a victorious cheer but he only allowed himself a smirk.

_Got ya…_

* * *

After school, Jean had to fight the smirk trying to creep onto his face as he heard footsteps nearing his classroom. He also had to fight his surprisingly fast beating heart.

_Am I nervous? Why am I nervous?_

And there he was, as expressionless as ever. He silently walked to Jean's desk.

"Arlert." The teacher greeted. He swallowed before continuing. "I'm supposing you disagree with your most recent test result."

The blonde placed the paper on his desk.

"This answer is correct." It startled Jean to realize that he had never heard his voice before. He tried to regain his focus.

"I see." There was silence for a moment. Jean looked at the boy who was staring at the ground. He didn't know what to say but the words simply escaped his mouth. "Do you care about your grades?"

The boy's head raised and the same look of near surprise was on his face again. More silence. He opened his mouth, like he was about to deny something, but stopped. Jean watched him as he closed his mouth. Suddenly his eyes were met by blue ones.

"No." He finally answered. "I don't." Those eyes looked away and Jean released a silent breath he didn't know he was holding. "It would just be stupid of me not to fix a mistake." There was silence once more. Jean watched his face. He had never seen him so closely before.

"I talked with your elementary teachers." His face didn't change but Jean caught sight of the boy's fists clenching. "They told me that you used to be different."

"Why did you ask about me?" His voice was still monotone but there was a slight coldness to the sound.

"You used to be exited to learn. It made you happy, Arlert."

"You have no right to be-"

"Armin." He looked up and to Jean the boy didn't seem cold anymore: he seemed fragile. "What happened?"

Armin stared at him for a long time before something that was not quite a smirk formed on his face. He spoke slowly.

"It was the typical thing: bullies." He looked away as if reliving some distant memory. "They always take it out on the smart ones as if it was their fault they were so dumb." His voice betrayed him, it sounded bitter. "They got mad whenever I smiled when I saw my test score. They got mad whenever I cheered at the new subject we were learning about. They got mad whenever I gasped at the newest adventure of my favorite book character."

Those blue eyes were suddenly on him. "You see, it wasn't the grades that made them angry. It was my enjoyment. The fact that academics made me happy was intolerable for them." He took back the test paper and stared at it. "They would beat me up and laugh and ask 'how does that make you feel?'." Jean felt sudden anger that would later scare him. "I guess that's how they felt when I laughed. Like I was laughing at them. I tried getting bad grades but it made no difference. Like I said; it wasn't the grades. It took some time but I finally understood and I did what I had to do."

He put the test back down. "I stopped caring. I stopped raising my hand at class. I stopped bringing books to school. I stopped smiling when I got good grades. I fought my emotions." He looked down as if suddenly his head had become too heavy to bear. "Soon I found out that I didn't have to fight them anymore. They just stopped. The bullies became frustrated at my lack of response at their offences. They were hitting me and yelling at me. Then one of them actually pulled me by the collar and looked me in the eye and said 'come on! What do you feel!?' and I truthfully responded 'I don't'. After that they never bothered me again. They had broken their favorite toy."

Jean wanted to say something. He wanted to kill whoever those kids were. The fact that they might be one of the students he gave class to every day drove him crazy. Armin continued and he forced himself to think of revenge later.

"I tried to go back to how I was but I couldn't. The plan had worked too well. I don't care about anything anymore. I don't feel anything."

"You're wrong."

The blonde raised his head almost violently. Jean held his gaze.

"If you really didn't care then you wouldn't have told me this. If you really didn't care then you wouldn't have come at all." Before he could stop himself, he continued. "And your writing! Whenever there are assignments on marine biology your handwriting becomes slanted because you are writing so fast! That's because you like that subject! Because you care!" Jean hadn't even realized that until he said it. It seemed like even his subconscious had become obsessed with the blonde boy standing before him.

The room was silent once again and Armin hadn't looked away from him. Jean thought they had been staring for far too long. Suddenly there was a change in Armin's eyes. Jean couldn't quite point it out but it was there.

"Thank you." He said. "Maybe I'm not too far gone…"

* * *

After that, Jean made it a habit to mark a few questions wrong on Armin's tests and assignments. It became a sort of routine. The blonde would come after school and Jean would make him explain the reasoning behind his answers. Jean did this with the intension of making Armin express himself and perhaps regain his passion for learning. It was obvious the boy wasn't going to make it easy but Jean considered himself a stubborn person. Slowly but surely Jean could see the spark in Armin's eyes grow whenever he went on and on about their topic of study. Jean had added many more marine biology assignments and he could tell that the blonde was enjoying it.

Once in a while Jean would bring a snack to these after school "meetings" for both of them. Armin would act like he wasn't touched by it but would always bring something for them the next day.

Jean decided to take it a step further.

"Alright, dim-wits, we're going on a field trip to the ocean."

It had taken him lots of convincing, a few favors, and some begging to get the trip accepted by the school. They lived more than an hour away from the ocean. In the end, it had been thanks to Connie really. He was a friend of the principal and he convinced him. When he asked Connie why he did it (aka what he wanted in return) the elementary teacher smirked and patted his shoulder.

"Oh, nothing. Just to be your best man when you marry Arlert."

Jean sighed in frustration at the memory. He had to accept that he found that kid to be the most beautiful human he had ever laid eyes on. He also worried about him constantly and was already capable of knowing his mood by his handwriting or the slightest twitch of his face. Also every little thing made him think about him, and-

_Ok, you've fallen. That's that._

"Well what are you waiting for!? Hurry up and go outside! The bus is waiting!" He yelled to his students. Outside of the bus he took out a piece of paper. "I have made assigned sitting." There was groaning from all of the students (with the obvious exception). "What? Did you think I was going to let you run free and embarrass the school? Well think again." He read off the list and Armin was conveniently sitting at the front next to a student who had called in sick. Everyone took their seats. Jean sat next to the blonde.

"Arlert, I expect full silence as I muse to myself about manatees." Armin's head was leaning against the window, his arms crossed, and his eyes closed. He was the image of pure boredom but Jean knew he was listening. Whenever he would conclude an explanation Armin would give an unconscious little hum and whenever Jean said something that interested him his face would twitch lightly.

Once they arrived, everyone got out of the bus and Jean paired them up with the person they had been sitting next to.

"Arlert, you'll be alone." He made no response but Jean knew him well enough to recognize the pleased look in his eyes. "Give each other space. You will have an assignment based on your observations and if I think two ideas are similar then you fail the entire year. Clear?"

He spent the rest of the day watching Armin. He had the lightest expression Jean had ever seen on his face. He looked at peace. Jean smiled and looked at the ocean.

"This was a good idea." He murmurs. He looked down and saw some shells. An idea occurred to him.

Once they are back in the bus, Jean declared that they are going to write a free style essay that somehow relates to their visit and what they have been seeing all semester. Everyone groaned except for Armin who actually looked content. Jean thought that might just be his greatest accomplishment as a teacher.

* * *

After school, Armin stopped by his classroom. He walked into the room in silence and they both just looked at each other. Armin's expression was not quite a smile but it was the closest thing to it he had probably done in years and Jean knew it was his way of saying thank you. Jean took something out of his pocket.

"I got you a souvenir."

Armin's actually gasped when he saw the little shell necklace being offered to him.

The boy took the necklace delicately as if it were made of some precious material. He looked at it with an unreadable expression. Suddenly he hugged it to him and looked down.

"Thank you."

"No problem." Jean began with a smile but Armin interrupted.

"No. You don't get it." His voice almost trembled. "Thank you for everything you've been doing for me. You've showed me that I still feel. That I'm still human. But what you've showed me isn't that I care about learning." He looked up and smiled.

**Smiled!**

"I care about you."

Jean was so shocked by Armin's face that all he could do was smile back. The biggest and silliest grin of his life. Without thinking he lifted his hand and caressed Armin's cheek.

"You're smiling!"

"Did you even hear what I just said?"

Jean held Armin's face with both hands now and leaned in.

"I heard you, believe me."

Their kiss was soft and so intimate it made Jean feel butterflies in his stomach.

_What am I? A teenage girl? _

When they pull apart, a bubbly laughter escaped Armin's lips and Jean knew the dam had finally been broken. Tears escaped those blue eyes but there was nothing but joy reflected in them. Jean laughed alongside him and held Armin as he finally let go of his emotions.

* * *

**I just realized that this story and the next one have one thing in common. Here's a hint: Shell necklaces!**


End file.
